


How to Flirt: Zaha Edition

by VigilantShadow



Category: The Secret World
Genre: F/F, More like how NOT to flirt, Tumblrmeetup gift exchange, Zaha how you gonna get with pretty girls if all you do is tease them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 13:46:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9126388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VigilantShadow/pseuds/VigilantShadow
Summary: Zaha watches a Templar Agent do Cost of Magic, and finds herself intrigued. Written as a Christmas present for lowtideandhightea on Tumblr, because her character Therese is a useless lesbian when it comes to Zaha and I thought I'd capitalize on that.





	

               In the years that she has been watching over Transylvania, Zaha has developed certain expectations. Vampires and men are both creatures of habit, and figuring out the patterns in enemy activity made keeping track of them much easier. She is careful, though. Complacency and carelessness have been the death of enough of her kin for her to know them as enemies. So, as she uses the patrol patterns and the idiosyncrasies of the leadership to her advantage, she keeps an eye out for changes in the daily routine.

               One such change is in her line of sight at the moment. The Templar, or at least Zaha assumed she was a Templar based on the red clothing, had been down in the valley for the past four hours. Zaha will not admit that she appreciates the tenacity, but she does. Zaha will not pretend that the tasks she asks of Gaia’s chosen are easy. If they were, she would have time to do them herself, or at least would have the option of foisting it on Mihas the next time her colleague visited the overlook. But the jobs she gives are too time consuming for her to leave her post, and too dangerous for her to risk any of her kin’s lives.

So, she is used to agents taking her instructions confidently and then stumbling back to her later with a scowl. A couple of the particularly tech-savvy ones had blogged about her. Carmen Preda sends them to her, with commentary written in the margins. Zaha doesn’t know how the Venetian gets them, just like how she can’t remember exactly how they’d met. But it’s a tradition between them, comraderie between two hardassed bitches. That’s something an Illuminati called her, once, saying she could at least “deign to look us in the eyes while she tells us to do stupid shit.” She had saved that one. It brings her joy in the darker times.

What Zaha isn’t used to, however, is this showboating. She can tell that the Templar isn’t enjoying her brand of grocery shopping any more than the others. Every time the blonde woman slips and falls from one of the floating platforms, Zaha can practically hear her let out a scream of frustration. But that frustration is only visible when she thinks Zaha can’t see her. It’s a little…Zaha supposes “cute” would be the appropriate word, that the Templar hasn’t noticed the cameras (and, more importantly, doesn’t assume they’ll be there automatically). It’s clear she doesn’t, because every time she wanders into an area where Zaha should be able to see her, her back gets a little straighter and there is a…is that swagger in her step? That swagger is _definitely_ there when the Templar wanders up to her outpost, ingredients in hand. The smile on her face looks a bit flustered, and the bravado a bit forced, and as Zaha takes the ingredients, she realizes what is happening.

She is being flirted with. This is flirtation. Zaha tries to be casual as she looks away, staring through her binoculars at nothing in particular as she thinks of how to react. Usually the people that approach her being more…decidedly not her type. Some of the negative “vague blogs” had been from male agents who tried to call her pretty, after all. But this woman…she’s good looking, and though some of the puzzles seemed to make her struggle she is competent enough to have finished them. Most importantly Zaha has always appreciated girls with muscles, especially girls with muscles cutting their way through vampires.

So, this situation is an opportunity, and one that Zaha is not quite sure what to do with it. This girl is 1. Flirting with her. 2. Flirting with her in a way Zaha very much appreciates. 3. Doesn’t realize Zaha knows that she is flirting with her. Number one is common, number two far less so, and number three, well. Zaha suppresses a smile as a whole new avenue of opportunities opens up before her. So she does something she never does with the agents that wander her way: she turns around and meets the other woman’s eyes. Instead of letting her set the ingredients on a crate, Zaha takes them straight from her hands. Zaha has a sudden urge to let her fingers hang there, but she resists it. She can’t make herself too obvious.

“Thank you,” she says, giving away nothing, “now, if you have time, would you be willing to do one more thing for me?” The Templar nods, her eyes widening ever so slightly and, oh, is that a blush? “I have security cameras placed around the valley. Some of them need to be repositioned, and I do not have the time,” Zaha can see the realization dawning on the Templar’s face, the realization that Zaha had most _definitely_ seen her stumbling around, and now Zaha is certain the woman is blushing. She can’t resist having one more bit of fun, “if you manage it, I am certain I can find a way to reward you.”

The Templar squeaks, just a little, and stumbles off. Zaha wonders what she’s doing exactly, playing with this stranger. There isn’t much that can come of it. This woman can go off whenever she wants and end this, leave Zaha stuck here. But it’s been so long since Zaha has allowed herself to have _fun,_ and Zaha wants to see how far this can go.


End file.
